chookmojoSenior Contributor
Nice perspective on self care
A girl at work sent this around and I thought I would share here as we have so many avid pet lovers....
You must treat yourself as a loved one, or team-mate. Or pet. Imagine how you would treat a pet – how you talk to it in a gentle voice; make sure it’s warm; delight in giving it treats, or taking it for a walk.
Become your own pet. Choose what you would be. Select your daemon. It’s a delightful hobby to have – being your own pet. For many years now, I have been a small, charismatic dachsund called Eric. I love Eric. I can be unabashed in my love of Eric – his stumpy legs, his gleeful leaping. Oh, I treat Eric so well! I make sure I walk Eric every day, for I have found he gets morose if he’s cooped up. He needs an hour of fresh air, regardless of the weather – he needs to look up at the sky, and have his heart race when birds fly overhead. He needs to gallop around a bit, woofing – which I disguise as jogging, and going ‘AHHHH!’ at the top of steep hills. He needs regular meals, and a good night’s sleep, and to be stroked, curled up on the sofa, watching musicals.
Eric loves jaunty clothes – he’s got a red bobble hat and a duffel-coat he feels very dapper in. And whenever Eric gets fraught, and thinks he’s having a nervous breakdown, I give him a cup of tea and a biscuit, and he almost invariably feels happier... So I always have a big biscuit tin – for Eric.
I'll have to think about what pet I would be and what that pet-care routine would look like.
